Slovenia imposes tougher restrictions to contain virus

Slovenia on Sunday banned its citizens from travelling around the country and made mask use mandatory as its premier warned that the hardest was yet ahead in the fight against the new coronavirus.

Starting from midnight on Sunday, Slovenian citizens will not be allowed to leave their municipality of residence and will have to use protective masks and gloves in food shops, post offices and other indoor public spaces.

"The hardest phase of the fight against the coronavirus is ahead of us," Prime Minister Janez Jansa said in a statement broadcast on television.

He added the government decided to impose stricter measures after thousands of citizens crowded the coast and other tourist sites under sunny skies on Saturday, ignoring previous government instructions to avoid going out as much as possible.

The Ljubljana Clinic Centre -- the EU member's main hospital dealing with coronavirus patients -- urged citizens to stay at home, warning its medical staff on Saturday had to treat a high number of sports-related injuries as if there was no pandemic.

Interior Minister Ales Hojs explained fines for breaching the ban were around 400 euros ($450) and added the government "might impose even tougher restrictions if the epidemic continues to spread".

The country of two million people reported on Sunday it had 730 confirmed cases of the new coronavirus -- one hundred of them hospitalised -- with 11 deaths.

A new measure has also been adopted, making it mandatory to disinfect apartment buildings' common spaces, such as entrance ways and stairwells, twice a day.

Slovenia has already closed cafes, restaurants and shops deemed non-essential and earlier this month introduced health checks along its border with Italy.

Like many other countries around the world, it has banned public gatherings of more than five people and reserved morning store hours for pensioners, pregnant women and people with disabilities.